


The One With Dragons And Shit

by helloyesIamtrash



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Also Kenma uses magic, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Dragons, Fluff, Griffins, Happy Ending, Kenma is a prince, KenmaProtectionSquad, M/M, Magic-Users, Nymphs & Dryads, Royalty, bc Kenma is no damsel, god bless kuroo tetsurou, play on the damsel in distress trope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-06 05:43:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8737048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helloyesIamtrash/pseuds/helloyesIamtrash
Summary: Kenma stopped as he heard a deep rumble from inside the dark depths of the cave. He took a deep breath, mentally prepared for whatever came his way. “Why would a human venture into the cave of a dragon? Turn back, little one.” A smooth, melodic voice warned, ensnaring Kenma’s attention. As he peered into the darkness, two golden pinpricks could be seen watching him. The dragon was there. (UPDATES EVERY THREE DAYS)(EDIT: I FIXED THE SHITTY FORMATTING IDK WHAT HAPPENED BUT IT'S GOOD NOW)





	1. Into The Lair

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nata1967](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nata1967/gifts).



> I LIVE FOR DRAGONS OKAY  
> THIS IS FOR MY BETA @Nata1967 THANK YOU FOR STAYING UP SUPER LATE WITH ME EVEN THOUGH IT'S LIKE 4PM FOR ME AND 2AM FOR YOU IDK WHY YOU DO IT BUT I'M V V V GRATEFUL

It was a sunny day when Kenma’s parents first approached with their ‘little problem’. The little problem being, of course, why Kenma wasn’t married and off ruling some other kingdom, preferably not their own.

Being the King and Queen of Nekoma, they didn’t ever have too much time for their son. They didn’t have time for much at all, actually. They were always away in some neighboring kingdom, strengthening relations, regulating trade, and largely ignoring their son for the past ten or so years, when they realized he was a rather self-sufficient child.

However, that didn’t mean that they left him alone. The Royal Advisor’s son, Yaku, was a companion of his who was a prodigy, having mastered magic at the age of seven. Kenma, being the second child of the King and Queen, was readily overlooked because of his older brother and was therefore able to get away with a lot. So, when he saw Yaku absentmindedly making a candle flame whirl in the air, he worked himself up to ask for lessons. Granted, it took that courage a week or so to build up, but Yaku said yes nonetheless.

As it turned out, Kenma had a natural affinity to air and wind magic, though he was rather versatile. By no means was he at the same level as Yaku, but after years of practice, he could make the wind howl and the clouds shift and the breeze to dance around his small frame. It was a silent, powerful force. Yaku said that it suited him well. Kenma agreed.

The wind also told him secrets in the form of a particularly gossipy air nymph named Oikawa Tooru, a giggly, kind-hearted spirit with an ego and a sharp tongue. Over the years, Kenma reluctantly allowed him the title of friend, along with Yaku. In return, Oikawa would tell him things he heard. The kingdom was doing rather well. The energetic messenger with hair like lightning was on his way to wooing the glass-hearted librarian. Oikawa tended to focus more on the romance stories, but always gave Kenma a few days notice before his parents came home.

Kenma was always grateful for that.

A few weeks after his seventeenth birthday, Oikawa came with the telltale warning of his parents returning soon. A saddened pout and worried eyes accompanied him. Kenma gave him a tiny nod to show that he would be fine.

At first, he hid from his parents. His places of solitude tended to be the library or Yaku’s home on the castle grounds, until he was caught one day in the garden.

“Darling, there you are!” Queen Kozume called cheerily as she glided gracefully over to her son, her husband following close behind.

“Hello mother, father. I trust your trip was well?” Kenma replied quietly, his nose wrinkling as his mother pulled him into a hug.

“Very well indeed, the Nohebi kingdom is rather agreeable as of late.” King Kozume huffed, pleased as ever.

“But that’s not the point, how are you, Kenma?” His mother asked with a smile, but her tone was… off.

“Fine, why?” Kenma asked suspiciously, his golden eyes searching as his parent’s expressions turned a little guilty.

“Son, your mother and I recently realized you are almost past the proper marrying age,” King Kozume started, putting an arm around his wife and giving Kenma a seemingly sympathetic look. “If we had realized sooner, then you would have been married by now. Most royals marry young, and are already taken.”

Kenma’s expression soured. He didn’t like where this was going.

“But then, I had a wonderful idea!” Queen Kozume preened. “We can give you to a dragon, and send for some brave knight to rescue our dear son. As a reward, they may have your hand in marriage!”

For hundreds of years, the bonds between mystical creatures and humanity grew weaker and less friendly. Many of the less formidable creatures went into hiding in due to fear of discrimination and anger from humans. Other races, such as dragons, were expected to slay knights and keep royalty captive. At least, that’s how it was in his family’s eyes - nowadays, they mostly kept to themselves. Kenma couldn’t remember the last time he heard of a human being hurt by a dragon. Even still, the thought made Kenma’s blood turn to ice.

“Why could I not marry someone of my choosing?” Kenma asked quietly, making sure not to talk out of turn.

“If you were to choose, you would pick Yaku, and as much as I adore that boy, you both have no feelings for one another.” Queen Kozume replied dryly. The wind whistled threateningly.

“Well, who said I would have feelings for my savior?” Kenma retorted.

“Kenma,” King Kozume said sharply, his eyes flashing dangerously. “We are doing this for not only you, but for the kingdom. They need two strong rulers, and we won’t always be around. You act like you have a choice in this matter. Have I made myself clear?” Kenma shrank back into himself and nodded. The wind whipped furiously around them as he struggled to control his rising anger, but the bottle blond felt an invisible force press against him and whisper into his ear.

“I have a plan, Ken-ma! Trust me.” Oikawa sang in the language of the wind nymphs, undetectable to those without magical knowledge. His mother looked around in distaste.

“The weather is turning foul, dear, we should all head back inside.” Queen Kozume noticed, and with that, his parents left him there in the garden. Slowly standing up, Kenma felt the nymph’s presence lift from his back and take a physical form. A handsome man with dark, calculating eyes a reassuring smile stood before him.

“Let’s find Yaku.” Oikawa said, and with that, he grabbed onto Kenma’s hand and ‘lead’ (read: dragged) him to a small cottage on the edge of the castle grounds. The brunette was smiling, but his powers revealed his true emotions. Leaves were viciously rustled, the air was frosty, and Oikawa Tooru was pissed. Once they arrived at the cottage, a gust of wind hit the door and it burst open, the small, caramel-haired man inside looking up in shock, turning quickly from anger to concern.

“What is it, Tooru- Kenma?” Yaku asked angrily, before noticing how shaken the young Prince looked.

“They want to give him to a dragon.” Oikawa laughed icily, his gaze sharp, and Yaku recoiled in anger. Suddenly, the room grew humid, and Yaku’s hair started to singe; the mage had a particular affinity to fire. A small tempest gathered between the two, their anger merging.

“Why would they do that?” Yaku asked, rage laced within his tone despite his calm demeanor.

“He’s apparently too old to get royal suitors looking at him.” Oikawa scoffed.

“Who the fuck cares about age? And no dragons harm humans anymore without provocation!” Yaku asked incredulously, and Oikawa threw up his hands in exasperation.

“And then they claimed that it was ‘for the kingdom’, even though everyone knows that Itsuru will become king, not Kenma!” Oikawa continued, wind whipping at his hair harshly.

“I can’t disobey them.” Kenma said quietly, and the other two men immediately stopped and flew to their friend’s side.

“Why not? They’ve never cared.” Oikawa asked, and Kenma shook his head.

“Father is disagreeable whenever he doesn’t get his way, and he knows that Itsuru will notice if he harms me. Instead, he’ll probably fire Yaku and make him leave the property as a petty punishment. I have to.” Kenma replied, and Yaku winced.

“I can do just fine on my own, and you could get killed-” Yaku started, but the bottle blond cut him off.

“I can care for myself,” Kenma interrupted sharply, his golden gaze falling on Yaku’s. “You taught me how, anyway. I won’t risk that for you.” The smaller’s face fell as he searched the Prince’s eyes.

“You’ve made up your mind, haven’t you? Stubborn brat.” Yaku said shakily, a watery laugh slipping out of him as his arms wrapped around his friend. For once, Kenma not only allowed the embrace, but reciprocated it as well (if only in a half-assed manner).

“Yaku, it’s not as if you won’t see him again! I’m not bound to stay inside the castle grounds, I can help him and send you messages from each other.” Oikawa volunteered with a determined smile, and Yaku looked up at him with glassy eyes.

“Thank you, Tooru.” Yaku smiled.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One week later, Kenma was riding in a black carriage towards a dragon’s lair. He had few belongings, some food, and one book he was allowed. He dressed in simple clothing and well-worn boots. What his parents didn’t know, however, is that Oikawa slipped him an enchanted mirror that he could use to communicate with Yaku and a small dagger for protection. The nymph also cheerily pointed out that he could call at any time or place and Oikawa would hear it, but he would be with Kenma whenever he could.

His parents refused to go along on the journey, maybe due to guilt. More likely due to fear. Itsuru was unaware of this entire scenario, of course, otherwise the crown prince would have objected. Yaku was unable to leave the grounds as long as he worked there, so he couldn’t travel alongside Kenma, though he wanted to. Oikawa was helping Yaku tinker with the castle mirrors so that the bottle blonde could contact any mirror in the castle, and the one nearest to Yaku would ring.

Thus, Kenma was alone on this journey.

His anxiety was riding high as the carriage passed the greenery. The dragon’s lair was actually surrounded by a rather beautiful forest. There were flower fields and birds singing, it was all rather picturesque. They rode for what seemed like days (but was probably for a few hours), and Kenma thought back onto the old books he read.

Elder dragons were his best case scenario. They tended to not care about eating humans and thought more upon storytelling and the days of old. Middle-aged dragons were the worst-case scenario, and were the most bloodthirsty. The best was to deal with them was to be interesting. Weave tales of human life, keep them occupied, make them think that he would be of some entertainment value to keep alive. Young dragons were a toss-up, as most were naive and playful. Mostly, they wanted companionship, as dragon mothers abandoned their youth at birth, though the older they are, the more those lines blurred.

What Kenma cared most about was staying alive, bartering with the dragon to elongate his life for as long as possible before the knight his parents wanted came and slew the supposed beast and carried Kenma off into a political happily ever after. That bothered Kenma, as he could care for himself just fine. So, he decided to offer himself up.

Not in that way, of course.

More like doing any small chores, polishing gold from hordes, anything that could count as manual labor. If the dragon deemed it silly, then ask them if anyone they knew had a human servant? And not just any human, a Prince with magical capabilities? No matter their age, dragons always were collectors. They wanted pretty, unique items for their hoards (usually jewels and precious metals) that no other dragon would ever have. And if Kenma was part of their hoard, it would mean safety.

Given, this was all ridiculous, seeing as dragons haven’t harmed humans in decades, or had interaction with them at all. That didn’t make it any less scary.

He forced his hands to stop shaking as the carriage stopped.

He ignored the look of terror and sympathy that the driver gave him as he sped away.

He suppressed a shudder running down his spine as he looked at the dark cave.

He did not think about the broken look on Yaku’s face as Kenma had rode away.

One step at a time, he strode into the rocky cavern, determination filling him.

He was no damsel in distress, but for his kingdom- no, for his best friend, he would play the part of one.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kenma stopped as he heard a deep rumble from inside the dark depths. He took a deep breath, mentally prepared for whatever came his way.

“Why would a human venture into the cave of a dragon? Turn back, little one.” A smooth, melodic voice warned, ensnaring the Prince’s attention. As he peered into the darkness, two golden pinpricks could be seen watching him. The dragon was there.

“As much as I would like to, my parents deemed it necessary for me to be taken by a dragon so that a ‘brave knight’ could save me.” Kenma replied cooly, distaste seeping into his tone. The dragon chuckled.

“A Prince, then? I thought those tales were getting a little stale. And you don’t deem it necessary?” The dragon quipped, its voice lilting.

“I can very much save myself if necessary, so a knight would be pointless except for marrying me off, which is the apparent point of this whole ordeal.” Kenma explained, and the dragon snorted in thought.

“Are you implying that you could take me on?” The dragon replied, still joking, but his undertone was dangerous.

“No, more that I don’t want to be married.” Kenma corrected, his eyes locked on the slowly enlarging golden orbs. The beast was getting closer.

“So, why are you here, then? Why should I care about your petty woes?” The dragon asked, and Kenma could feel a heat source nearing. He wondered why, in this darkness, why he couldn’t manage to see an outline of the dragon.

“Because I have come to offer my services. I can help with daily chores and anything you may need while I’m here in exchange for my life, hopefully room and board as well.” Kenma offered, dead serious. The golden orbs stopped advancing. They were ten feet away. Suddenly, a column of flame erupted from the darkness, illuminating numerous torches around the circular room, and Kenma finally understood why he couldn’t make out the dragon’s shape.

He was pure black, about the side of a large house. His midnight scales glinted in the darkness, smooth and shiny. Silvery metallic claws gleamed in the light. Large golden horns erupted from his head, curling slightly inwards. The eyes were a fiery golden yellow, curiosity sparking in the slitted gaze. The creature laughed, the baritone sound echoing throughout the cave. He lowered his head to make eye contact with Kenma.

“Are you sure that you want to live with a dragon, little kitten?” He asked, showing off his razor-sharp teeth in what Kenma assumed to be a smirk.

“I’m sure.” Kenma replied resolutely, his gaze never faltering, and the dragon tilted his head in mild surprise. The wind blew throughout the cavern, tossing Kenma’s hair lightly, and the large being snorted in surprise, bit of smoke coming out from his nostrils.

“What is your name, human?” The dragon asked, his voice bellowing majestically throughout the cavern.

“Kozume Kenma. And what can I call you?” Kenma replied, relief and pride bubbling up in his chest (though he refused to show it).

“Well, my actual name is untranslatable to your language, but the closest is Kuroo Tetsurou,” The dragon, Kuroo, grinned. “I hope you enjoy your stay.”


	2. Are You Sure This One's A Dragon?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenma's settling in, and he supposes maybe living with a dragon isn't all that bad if the dragon is Kuroo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IK ITS SHORT BUT THE NEXT ONE IS MASSIVE I PROMISE

On his first night, the moment Kuroo was asleep, Oikawa flew to Kenma in a whirlwind.

“Thank god you’re okay! That’s the dragon? He’s massive! How did you-” Oikawa rambled, but he was silenced with a withering look from the Prince.

“What matters is that I am fine and will be fine for a while. But can you tell Yaku that I probably won’t use the mirror for a while? I want to gain Kuroo’s trust first, to make sure that he knows I’m not sending an SOS for someone to kill him.” Kenma spoke in the nymph’s native tongue.

“He misses you.” Oikawa said quietly, and Kenma stiffened.

“I miss him, too.” Kenma replied softly, and with a kiss on the forehead and a whisper of sweet dreams, Oikawa left the exhausted boy to rest, not without sending the sleeping dragon a look of absolute disgust and warning.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
For the first week or so, Kenma settled into a routine. Kuroo’s cave was an absolute mess. The dragon himself tended to avoid the human, for reasons he didn’t particularly understand but was nonetheless grateful for. It gave the bottle blond ample time to clean up countless spaces, washing fabrics used for who knows what and other various chores.

He also saw Kuroo’s research, hundreds of papers with hastily scribbled notes on dragons and their fire, chemical formulas and potions. He snorted when he figured out that the big scary dragon had added at least six too many exclamation points when he had discovered how to made colored glass. Then, something happened when five days had passed since his arrival.

“What is it?” Kenma deadpanned as he turned to face the dragon, who had been staring at him intently for a good hour now.

“Why are you not scared of me?” The dragon asked immediately, then backtracked with a regretful hiss. “I mean, I’m glad that you aren’t, but it kind of hurts my ego.”

Kenma blinked. “Yesterday, you knocked over three formulas with your tail when you realized that one of your hypotheses was correct. You’re the least scary dragon I’ve ever heard of.” For a second, the dragon looked a little offended, his tail curling and his body heat cooling a bit, but then he snorted smoke and toothily grinned.

“Well, if you’re not scared of me, then you can keep me company! It’s boring with no one to talk to.” Kuroo grinned, and Kenma felt a faint heat rising on his cheeks. He blamed it on Kuroo.

“Sure, I guess.” Kenma muttered, and Kuroo looked satisfied. After that, it was hard to get rid of him. Since the dragon had sheltered himself in his cave for his research for many years, he didn’t have much current knowledge of human advancement, so many mundane things fascinated him. He was surprised at how people thought that ‘tiny swords’ could be effective, but Kenma explained that daggers were easily hidden and good for close-combat. The whole concept of time was strange to Kuroo as well, since dragons lived for millennia. The first time that Kenma had contacted Yaku through the mirror, Kuroo walked in and was immediately entranced by this strange device. Dragons usually used water pools as a means of communication, but the fact that humans had an enchanted, portable one? It was uncanny!

“So this is Kuroo?” Yaku asked, an eyebrow raised as Kuroo mumbled under his breath about new magics and technology from outside the frame.

“I told you that you had nothing to worry about.” Kenma said, rolling his eyes. Suddenly, a large, golden eye overtook Yaku’s mirror.

“Hello, Yaku! It’s nice to finally meet you.” Kuroo greeted warmly.

“And you, Kuroo.” Yaku replied warily, a small, hesitant smile on his face.

“Kuroo, you’re taking the entire screen with your eye.” Kenma deadpanned, and the screen suddenly panned out as the dragon backed off, revealing an annoyed Kenma and a massive, inky, surprisingly-sheepish looking dragon.

“Sorry, kitten! I can turn into my human form, if that’s better?” Kuroo offered, and Kenma blinked.

“I didn’t know you had a human form.” Kenma said, curiosity bleeding into his usual monotone.

“All dragons have human forms, Kenma.” Kuroo clicked his tongue in mock disappointment, and the bottle blond huffed exasperatedly. With a sharp grin, black swirls surrounded the large dragon, and Kenma shifted the mirror so that Yaku could watch the transformation and still have a good view of his friend. The swirls were pulsating as they whirled, getting smaller and smaller until it was about the size of a rather tall human. After one final swell, the black swirls burst away into nothing, revealing what Kenma thought to be one of the most attractive men he had ever laid eyes on.

Messy black black hair fell to hide one golden, slitted eye as it stuck out in odd directions, a cheshire grin painting his face and his skin was pale. He was tall and lanky, but his gait was confident as he walked over, looking very pleased with himself.

“Better?” Kuroo asked, grinning as he looked between the two humans. Yaku looked at Kenma, who seemed to be at a loss for words, barely-detectable pink on his cheeks. The caramel-haired boy beamed devilishly.

“Definitely.”  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“How come I haven’t seen your hoard?” Kenma asked one day. It had been at least a few weeks, and the human prince was getting genuinely curious. As he started living with the dragon, he picked up bits and pieces of dragon knowledge. For example, though many dragons did collect precious metals, it wasn’t uncommon for other things to be amassed as a hoard. The dragon seemed to shrink as if he wasn’t more than four times Kenma’s size and laughed sheepishly.

“I know you’re gonna judge me.” Kuroo admitted as he scraped his claws along the cavern floors and flexed his wings experimentally - two habits of his when he grew nervous or anxious.

“How do you know?” Kenma asked.

“Your ‘ick’ face.” Kuroo sighed, giving the human a specific, withering look, while Kenma looked on in confusion.

“My… what?” Kenma asked, furrowing his brows and wrinkling his nose.

“That! That face! You wrinkle your nose and look at me like I’m the scum of this earth!” Kuroo exclaimed, stomping his claws for emphasis. Kenma blinked and took out his mirror in surprise.

“I didn’t know I had an… ‘ick’ face.” Kenma murmured under his breath, and Kuroo rolled his eyes fondly and pressed his nose to the top of Kenma’s forehead affectionately - it was his version of ruffling the human’s hair in dragon form.

“Well, now you know.” Kuroo chuckled, and Kenma once again found himself in complete awe of this strange, beautiful creature known as Kuroo Tetsurou. He felt a weird tugging-fluttering in the pit of his stomach.

He elected to ignore it.

Later that night, Kenma realized that Kuroo had effectively avoided the question, so he went searching the cave for the large dragon. Following the wind he created, he turned a corner to see a large room. He could hear Kuroo’s rumbling laughter from inside. Kenma took a deep breath and turned the corner. The breath that he was holding caught in his throat. The sight that was laid before him was both the most strange and unsurprising thing that he had ever seen.

Kenma thought back to when he first realized that Kuroo might not have a hoard of gold, and he genuinely wondered why he thought it could be anything other than a small army of cats.

They were everywhere, of all shapes and sizes and ages. There were older cats who were snoozing the night away, mother cats who were nursing their young, and tomcats who were roughhousing. Best of all, Kuroo, a black, fire-breathing dragon about the size of mansion who had the capabilities of destroying whole kingdoms without much effort at all, was laughing as about twenty or so kittens were climbing all over him and using his tail as a giant slide. Kenma couldn’t help how much his heart swelled at the sight of this stupidly protective, infuriatingly charming dragon and his kind words and his quick wit and his big heart and-

Oh.

He needed Oikawa, because Kenma finally might understand the weird fluttering in his chest and the flush over his body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers* o shit waddup
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated, love you all! <3


	3. The Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter a Dragon, a Griffin, and a Knight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (◡‿◡✿)  
> (Told you guys it would be longer <3)

The next day, Kuroo had to go out and meet some of his old friends, apparently, so it was the perfect time for Oikawa to come.

“Oikawa Tooru.” Kenma called to the wind, as boldly as he dared, and without a second to spare, a figure appeared in a gust, slowly taking human form.

“Ken-ma! Who is that hunky dryad you talk to?” Oikawa immediately asked, his eyes alight with mischief.

“Ah, Iwaizumi?” Kenma said hesitantly, momentarily distracted.

“So that’s his name? He pisses me off, Kenma! Being all hot and me not being able to move him because he’s a stupid earth dyrad,” Oikawa grumbled huffily, pouting as he fell next to Kenma on his makeshift bed. “But enough of that! You rang for your favorite wind nymph?” Oikawa continued, batting his eyelashes prettily.

“I- I’ve been feeling… weird, lately,” Kenma started shortly, unsure of how to put this. “Around Kuroo.”

“Have you now?” Oikawa said slowly, a cheeky grin creeping onto his face.

“My stomach feels fluttery and like I’m going to throw up at the same time and his smile is, like, light? I think? And I don’t know what’s happening and how to make it stop.” Kenma shrugged, his eyes trained on the ground and his fingers twitching.

“Kenma,” Oikawa sang coyly. “You’re in L-O-V-E!” He collapsed in giggles as he looked at his human friend, who seemed to be in a state of shock.

“I had a suspicion,” Kenma admitted softly. “But I didn’t want to believe it was true.”

“Why not?” Oikawa asked, suddenly shooting up, his hair floating in the wind. The wind nymph tended to get very… invested in romance.

“Because he obviously can’t feel the same? I have to be some sort of nuisance, a small human with an insignificant lifespan who’ll die in the blink of an eye.” Kenma said logically, his golden eyes sad but accepting.

“Kenma, are you blind? Have you seen the way he looks at you?” Oikawa gasped, truly offended. “It’s like you’re the only person in the room. If he doesn’t love you, then I’m a ghost of my former matchmaking skills.”

“You’re a wind nymph, you can be mistaken for a ghost.” Kenma murmured in thought.

“That’s not the point!” Oikawa whined.

“I just… don’t know.” Kenma said, his own version of frustrated. He wasn’t outwardly angry, but his eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were curling downwards slightly. It was more confusion and uncertainty rather than anger. Oikawa sighed and sent a light gust to tousle Kenma’s hair. Just then, a loud crash came from further inside the cave, causing both nymph and human to jump.

“But Kuroo, lemme see!” A excited voice whined, put out for some odd reason.

“I don’t want you to freak him out!” Kuroo’s voice echoed throughout the cave, worry clear in his tone as they got closer. “I don’t even know where he is right now…”

“You should respect Kuroo’s wishes, Bokuto-san.” A voice reprimanded cooly, and another whine was heard - they were in the next room, and would be in sight soon.

“But Akaashi!” The first voice whined, the owner turning the corner to Kenma’s room and stopped. Golden, hawk-like eyes fell onto the human’s own as they grew and sparkled with childlike joy. A griffin stood before him, about the size of a small house, Its beak was open in what Kenma thought was maybe-probably a smile. His fur and feathers were a stark contrast of black and white, gleaming in the dim cave light. His claws shifting up and down excitedly as it broke eye contact to look pleadingly at someone out of Kenma’s view, like a puppy who was asking for permission from his owner. Another hulking creature turned the corner, the one the griffin was staring at, and its slate eyes widened as it sighed.

“Oh dear.” The new dragon sighed, his reflective scales shimmering softly as he walked. He was definitely smaller than Kuroo, about the size of a small house, and had smaller, pearly white horns. His voice was melodic, though not as deep as the black dragon’s, and his eyes were a gorgeous blue-gray, the color of the sky before a storm. The most interesting, however, were his scales - they were reflective, almost like glass. Then, Kuroo peeked his head in and immediately grimaced as he saw Kenma.

“Kuroo, who are they?” Kenma asked curiously, the human’s gaze flickering between the two new creatures (the griffin was currently vibrating with excitement - it was probably taking him a lot of effort not to talk).

“Some friends of mine, they just barged in, sorry- is this okay, Kenma?” Kuroo said sheepishly, wilting under Kenma’s sharp gaze.

“We didn’t mean to frighten you if we have, please accept our apologies.” The smaller dragon apologized, bowing his head slightly. Instead of replying, the human turned his vision to the black beast who looked more like a child who had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. However, whatever Kenma would have said was cut off by the griffin, who could no longer apparently stay still as he bounded over to human and circled him, radiating childlike curiosity.

“Wow, I haven’t seen a human in, well, ever! You really are tiny! Is it true that you only live like, twenty years? What are bricks and why does Kuroo always call me dumber than them? Are they smart? Have you seen Kuroo’s hoard yet? My favorite is Millie-” The griffin rambled excitedly, sniffing the air around Kenma as endless questions poured out of him. Kenma froze up, clearly uncomfortable and overwhelmed. The griffin would have continued, but two forces acted at the same time.

One was the mirror-like dragon, gliding over and grabbing the creature by the nape of his neck with a pointed look and dragged him a little away from the human. The other force was Oikawa, who had reappeared in his nymph form, his image appearing briefly in a gust of wind as he stood protectively in front of Kenma. Kuroo had bounded forward as well, his wing purposefully hitting the griffin on the back of his head, though he showed surprise when he glimpsed the wind nymph.

“Tooru, don’t just appear like that, people will think you really are a ghost.” Kenma drawled. With a huff, Oikawa reverted back into his human form and gave Kuroo a curt nod and a small smile.

“Nice to meet you in the flesh, Kuroo-chan.” Oikawa said tautly, his eyes still latched onto the griffin. The two had spoken over the mirror, but never in person.

“It’s alright, Oikawa, he wouldn’t hurt a fly.” Kuroo sighed, changing into his human form as well. It was the first time The wind nymph hadn’t seen him in anything but his dragon form, so when the nymph gave the human a raised eyebrow and a thumbs-up hidden behind his back, Kenma had to hold back his… ‘ick’ face.

“It would be best if we also used our human forms, regardless if you are scared or not.” The mirror-dragon addressed Kenma, who appreciated the fact that he was being talked to like he was actually in the room. With a soft light surrounding him, the dragon shrunk into a pale man with gorgeous, effortlessly curled black locks and the same cautious, slate eyes. With a sheepish, beaky grin, the griffin wrapped himself in his wings,and with a poof of feathers, the wings disappeared to reveal a tall, rather tanned man with golden eyes and dyed hair that was almost as ridiculous as Kuroo’s. He also looked to be near tears.

“Perhaps we should start over. I am Akaashi Keiji, Dragon of Mirrors, and this is my mate, Bokuto Koutarou, King of Griffins. Please excuse him, he gets very excited.” The former mirror dragon introduced, fondness seeping into his tone as he looked at his mate in exasperation.

“I didn’t think that you would actually be scared of me, I’m sorry!” The griffin, Bokuto, wailed distraughtly, and Kenma could see Oikawa soften out of the corner of his eye - they both knew that he would pose no true threat.

“If I’m not scared of Kuroo, why would I be of you? It’s fine.” Kenma stated, his expression neutral. The griffin turned to Kuroo expectantly.

“Personal space,” Kuroo reminded reluctantly. “But it’s his choice.”

“What’s your name, human?” Akaashi asked, slowly stepping closer, as if Kenma would suddenly bolt away if the newcomers got too close. It irritated the bottle blond that he was being treated like a glass doll, but he nonetheless appreciated the sentiment. However, despite Akaashi’s calm demeanor, he could see the curiosity, the small gleam of interest in his eyes. It wasn’t predatory, but something Kenma couldn’t put his finger on.

Protective.

Of what? Maybe of Kuroo, since he was harboring a human who would surely bring a knight with killing intent eventually. Maybe of Bokuto, as there was still some tension left in the air. Maybe of Kenma himself, from the other creatures here.

“Kozume Kenma, air mage.” Kemna introduced, a small upwards tug on his lips as he tried to replicate the dragon’s former introduction that included their title. He liked this one, Akaashi. He was interesting. Kuroo was more so, since it baffled him how such a terrifying beast could actually be more like an annoying cat who wanted constant attention, but Akaashi was interesting nonetheless. Bokuto was more obnoxious, but kind at heart.

“Not even introducing me? Rude, Ken-ma!” Oikawa sing-songed before addressing the newcomers with a dazzling grin. “Oikawa Tooru, wind nymph and Kenma’s friend.”

“But have you seen his hoard, Kozume?” Bokuto asked, his golden eyes wide and sparkly as he bounced on the heels of his feet, but maintained a small distance - a small bit of respect for him grew inside the human. Oikawa pouted as he was ignored, but Akaashi quickly struck up a conversation with the nymph.

“Ahaha, no, he hasn’t, and he doesn’t need to!” Kuroo interrupted the Griffin King and his human, giving Bokuto a pointed look of ‘Don’t’, but Kenma snorted.

“You act as if I haven’t already seen it.” Kenma said vaguely, but his eyes were shining with mirth and his face was blank to the point of fake innocence. “And, Kenma is fine.” He said to Bokuto, who smiled happily.

“You… have?” Kuroo asked, a small frown forming on his face, but his tone remained playful. “There goes my cool image.”

“What cool image?” Kenma asked in his trademark monotone roast, and Bokuto snorted before laughing loudly.

“Kenma, you wound me so.” Kuroo groaned, and Kenma rolled his eyes.

“Now, will you show me your cat army properly?” Kenma grumbled, looking at the ground. To anyone else, he would have seemed reluctantly obliging Kuroo’s wishes, but Kuroo knew better. It was something important to the black dragon, so Kenma wanted to be a part of it. It made his internal fire warmer, brighter, and Kuroo smiled.

“Sure, kitten. Bokuto, we’re seeing the cats, and Millie’s missed you.” Kuroo called out, and the rest of the evening was spent with all five of them being amassed in cats and laughter and funny stories. Yaku even joined in for a bit, if only through the mirror. After a bit, though, Oikawa bid everyone goodbye, and Akaashi and Kenma watched as the now dragon-and-griffin duo romped around and played with the cats.

“So, how did this even occur, Kozume-san?” Akaashi asked politely, still in his human form as the two sat on the cave floor. Akaashi was absentmindedly petting an orange and white tabby, accurately named Hambone (by Bokuto, of course), who made it his life’s mission to bump and headbutt Akaashi’s hand. On Kenma was a small brown tabby named Haruhi, who was perfectly content sleeping in his lap.

“Kenma is fine, Akaashi,” Kenma hummed. “My parents thought it was a lovely idea for me to find a husband by getting a knight to save me from a ‘fearsome dragon’. You can see how well that’s working out for them.” Akaashi chuckled as the human gestured to the black dragon, who was grinning as cats climbed on his horns.

“Very… fearsome.” Akaashi agreed.

“Terrifying.” Kenma agreed solemnly, but the corners of his lips tugged upwards.

“What happens if a knight does come, though?” Akaashi asked cautiously, his slate eyes glancing at the human lazily, but for as casual as it seemed, his gaze was piercing. In all of his months here, it hadn’t occurred to Kenma that his parents would actually find someone who would come to ‘save’ him. He scrunched his face in thought, and turned to Akaashi, his gaze frighteningly cold as a wind from nowhere whipped at his hair.

“I may seem helpless, but I won’t let anyone lay a finger on my Tetsurou.” Kenma claimed coldly, and though Akaashi knew that the threat wasn’t meant for him, more of a promise, really, it still sent shivers down his spine. Even more so, it piqued his interest.

“Your Tetsurou?” Akaashi repeated slowly, his eyebrows raised as Kenma paled slightly.  
“I didn’t mean to say that.” Kenma whispered quietly, more to himself than to Akaashi.

“Yes, you did.” Akaashi stated. There was no judgement in his tone, but they both knew it was true. After months of confusion, denial, and most recently, Oikawa Tooru, Kenma finally had a name for his feelings.

And that was more terrifying than any knight that could come for him.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
A year had passed since Kenma arrived at Kuroo’s lair, and the black dragon and the human got to know each other to such a degree that it was slightly scary. Somewhere along the line, Kuroo became Tetsurou. Somewhere along the line, Kenma’s name came out a little sweeter whenever Kuroo said it. Somewhere along the line, Kuroo got angry and Kenma got angry and ignoring lead to apologies and allowance of hugs and dried tears that wouldn’t come back for a long, long time. The cold winter months left them in the habit of curling together for warmth, the dragon’s smooth scales and body heat giving them both comfort. Kuroo could read Kenma like the back of his hand, and vice versa.

They had become inseparable, and Kenma had never been so happy.

Then, Yaku called frantically one day after recovering from a slight cold, his face marred with panic and worry.

“Kenma, I’m so sorry I didn’t know sooner, he should be there any hour now, I’m so stupid-” Yaku babbled, and Kenma grew concerned. His friend was never like this - he was always rather composed when it came to Kenma, so to see him break down like this was scary.

“Morisuke, what-” Kenma started, using his friend’s first name to try and help him out of his stupor, and it worked, and the words the human never wanted to hear came out.

“A knight came here. A few days ago. Your parents kept it very hush-hush, probably knew I would warn you. He started his journey yesterday, he should be there soon, I’m so sorry.” Yaku sobbed in frustration, and Kenma’s blood turned to ice.

“I need to warn him.” Kenma murmured in a daze, hanging up the mirror phone and running to the entrance of the cave when he heard an angry roar. Shivers of fear ran up his spine - it was Kuroo. His adrenaline spiked as he reached the entrance of the cave to find the massive black dragon looking more murderous and animalistic than he’s ever seen him, golden slitted gaze focused solely on a small figure in silver armor.

“-He is not some fucking prize to be won! You are not taking him away from me!” Kuroo snarled venomously, claws sharp and eyes shimmering with pure rage.

“Does it really seem like that to you? Pity.” The knight smirked, his eyes screaming danger. Kuroo then noticed the bottle blond and snarled, blocking his path with an enormous black wing.

“Stay out of this, Kenma!” Kuroo growled, and the knight perked, his gaze zeroing in on the human with a triumphant smirk.

“Hello, my Prince, I’m here to rescue you and slay this foul creature.” He preened smarmily. “Now, let me finish off the beast.” The man licked his lips hungrily, and a shudder of disgust ran down Kenma’s spine.

“Finish off?” Kenma asked lowly as he pushed himself out from under Kuroo’s wing, and the dragon hissed. The human’s eyes widened in pure horror as he saw a large slash on Kuroo’s chest - he noticed his breathing was haggard.

Oh, this wouldn’t do at all.

“And how come it took you so long, Prince Daishou?” Kenma asked coldly, shooting him a glare. It hurt to feel Kuroo’s pained gaze on him, to allow him to believe that this was all a lie, but the bottle blond let his fingers brush the dragon’s wing - a promise, a reminder. Play along, please.

“Well, it’s good to know you remember me.” Daishou sniffed, a predatory look on his face as Kenma eased closer, distracting him from the wounded dragon.

“You were to marry Princess Aiyoko, if my memory serves. If you’re here now, I suppose the engagement is off. Congratulations. Am I to believe that I’m your second choice?” Kenma observed haughtily as his gaze met the Prince’s.

“I would be careful if I were you, my dear Kenma,” Daishou smiled darkly, leering over the smaller human. “I could just as easily abandon you here with a dead dragon.”

“That would actually be fantastic, except he won’t be dead.” Kenma said, his voice sweetly cold as he finally met the knight up close.

“I’m sorry?” Daishou replied, momentarily taken aback, and using that to his advantage, Kenma murmured a quick prayer to the wind. The incantation caused a great gale to fly around him, the winds whipping menacingly. It was a tornado, a whirlwind of emotions, swirling and dancing viciously. Daishou had to cover his eyes and tried to brace for impact, but it was too late. He was caught in an air bubble, floating at the mercy of Kenma’s wind. His eyes were glowing gold, cold and dangerous apathy oozing out of him.

“I am not a prize to be won. And, if you ever try to come back or threaten my kingdom, I hope you realize that the wind carries. Words travel. People die mysteriously,” Kenma said lightly, but his words were sharper than a knife. Suddenly, the wind brought Daishou close, forcing eye contact. “And if you ever try to harm my Tetsurou ever again, I will be digging your grave myself and throwing you in it.”

With a small whimper from the knight, Kenma snapped his fingers. Daishou started to disappear into the wind, travelling off somewhere far, far away. The bottle blond felt like collapsing, but that wasn’t important right now, because all that mattered was Kuroo, Kuroo, Kuroo. His brain was repeating that name like a mantra, a reverent prayer as he stumbled towards the dragon who was lying on the ground.

“Hey, kitten. Some protector I am, huh?” Kuroo joked weakly, but they both knew better. He had lost a lot of blood.

“You’re so stupid.” Kenma muttered softly, his voice breaking as he frantically went through plans A, B C D… nothing would work. Kenma swallowed. He knew what he had to do. If it meant that Kuroo would live, it would be worth the sacrifice.

“Great King Of the Wind, I summon thee,” Kenma murmured softly, and already he could feel his power ebbing away. A great elk made out of wind stepped out of nothing, joining the mage at Kuroo’s side. Kenma gave a choked sob. “Save him. Please, save him.”

“Kenma, no!” Kuroo coughed, his eyes widening in sheer horror, but it was too late. The elk nodded, glowing faintly as Kuroo’s wound closed up. Color returned to those golden eyes, while Kenma felt dizzy, drained. He felt like he was fading.

“I love you, Tetsurou.” Kenma managed to whisper as he fell to his knees, darkness surrounding him. The last thing he remembered was Kuroo calling his name desperately as he fell into nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (ʘ‿ʘ✿)  
> (I'm sorry I hate me too, it's only three more days ilysm <3)


	4. Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenma felt, heard, sensed vaguely for what seemed like forever and nothing. He felt a slight breeze, a chill, the warmth of the sun. He heard yelling and crying and dragon voices. Where was he, what happened? 
> 
> "You look like shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY I'M A DAY LATE

Kenma felt, heard, sensed vaguely for what seemed like forever and nothing. He felt a slight breeze, a chill, the warmth of the sun. He heard yelling and crying and dragon voices and Kuroo desperately asking for someone named Sugawara. He felt a numbness, a hot flash of pain, and then… for the longest time, nothing. Then, he could slowly feel his strength returning, flowing throughout his veins, and as he was slowly coming to, he heard voices. 

“Are you sure?” A weak voice asked, hope evident in its melodic tone. Kenma felt his heart break when he realized it was Kuroo. 

“He should be awake in an hour, tops. Scared me for a little bit, but your human’s a trooper,” A smooth, light voice reassured Kuroo. “Why… why didn’t you save him?” It continued, and Kenma felt confused. What did it mean, save him? A heavy sigh was heard. 

“I… I couldn’t do that to him without his consent, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t burden him with this. Besides, you were a guarantee that he would be okay. That was not.” Kuroo replied wearily. Kenma couldn’t stand this, not being able to comfort Kuroo, to talk to him, to see him. He needed to see him. He tried frantically to move. After a moment, he was triumphant in making his hand twitch. 

“He’s waking. I’ll leave you two be.” The smooth, new voice said softly, and a whooshing sound occurred - apparently that dragon was gone. He heard a soft footsteps (ah, Kuroo was in his human form) hurry closer to him, and his heart sang as he struggled to move, do something, anything. With a final groan of frustration, he opened his eyes and saw white. It was a crystalline cavern, with an open roof where the sunlight poured in. Turning his head slowly to the left, Kenma’s heart leapt when he saw Kuroo. Given, he looked like hell - bags under his eyes, lost some weight, hair looking more like a dead animal than usual - but his eyes were shining and he had the biggest smile on his face. 

“You look like shit.” Kenma deadpanned with a soft smile, and Kuroo let out a broken laugh as he wrapped his arms around the tiny human. 

“Look in a mirror.” Kuroo replied wetly, simply holding his human close. His human, his Kenma, alive, breathing, feeling good enough to insult him. Kenma, who saved him and sacrificed himself for him and wanted to stay with him and Kuroo’s heart felt like it might burst from unadulterated joy.

“Are you okay?” Kenma mumbled softly into his shoulder, his grip tightening on Kuroo’s clothing as he clung to him, for one completely in need of physical contact and not willing to let up anytime soon. 

“Fine, fine, but are you okay?” Kuroo dismissed himself, running one hand through the human’s hair. 

“My head is spinning, but other than that, pretty okay.” Kenma said honestly, and Kuroo laughed, a beautiful sound. 

“God, you scared me,” Kuroo chuckled softly, and Kenma stiffened. Kuroo continued on quietly, hopefully. “You said you loved me. Right before you blacked out. Did… Did you mean that?” Kenma didn’t speak, couldn’t trust himself to speak without crying, so he just buried himself further into Kuroo, and gave him a tiny, tiny nod. The taller laughed weakly. 

“I love you so much that it’s scary, Kenma.” Kuroo admitted, and the human immediately let go of him. For a split second, Kuroo worried that this was rejection, but instead all he got was Kenma’s eyes searching his own. 

“Don’t mess with me right now, Kuroo. Not about this.” Kenma muttered, his voice dangerously close to cracking and his figure vulnerable, and the elder softened as he cupped Kenma’s cheek slowly, surely. 

“I would never lie about this.” Kuroo said firmly, and with a choked sob, Kenma pressed their lips together. Kuroo tasted like smoke and spice and something distinctly like home, and Kenma was long gone as they rested in each other’s arms. They stayed like this for who knows how long before they heard a soft knock on the cave wall next to the curtain separating them from other rooms. Lips popped off of each other and limbs were untangled as both boys, breathing hard, reluctantly disconnected. 

“Come in.” Kuroo replied, and an unfairly pretty man with chocolate eyes and silver hair strode in, unaffected by the obvious evidence. 

“Nice to finally meet you, Kenma! Kuroo’s been rambling about you for weeks, but I had hoped that we would have met in better conditions. I’m Sugawara Koushi, Dragon of Crystals, but just Suga is fine,” He cheerily introduced. “How are you feeling?” 

“Terrible, but better.” Kenma admitted, and Suga laughed prettily. 

“That’s good. You were slipping in and out when I was working on you, you’ve been out for a few days.” Suga smiled as he scribbled something down on the parchment he was holding. 

“Thank you. I know helping a human must be against some moral value.” Kenma murmured quietly, but Suga waved his hand. 

“Nonsense, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Either way, most of your injuries are internal, and you simply need to get your strength back. You can stay here for another day or two, and then you should be set to return with Kuroo.” Suga smiled, and without another word, he exited. 

“Are we going back to the cave?” Kenma asked quietly, and Kuroo looked at him with blatant confusion. 

“Of course, where else would we go?” Kuroo replied, and the human just shrugged and looked at the ground. “What, it’s not like I would… bring you… back… oh. Kenma, I wouldn’t take you back to the castle. Not unless you wanted me to.” Kuroo said softly as he realized - Kenma’s reason for staying with them got both of them hurt, and now knights wouldn’t really be frequent visitors. His reason to stay was gone, but that didn’t mean Kuroo was even close to wanting him to leave. 

“I do want to go back at some point,” Kenma admitted, and the dragon took in a sharp breath. “To sneak in and see Yaku in person again. I miss him. But, if you’ll still have me-” Kenma squirmed in his seat before looking at Kuroo earnestly. “-I want to go back home.” 

The ‘our home’ was unspoken, but the message was clear. 

Kuroo pulled him into a warm embrace, his brain screaming ‘He’s okay, he wants to stay, please don’t go, you’re my everything, stay’ as his human buried his face in his shoulder. Kenma smiled into his dragon, finally feeling like he understood the phrase ‘home is where the heart is’ - it was with Kuroo. 

After a few days, Suga had released Kenma will a smile, promising to visit sometime soon, and Kuroo flew back to their cave with his human resting happily on his back. The blue sky calmed him, and he blissfully ran his hands through the clouds as they flew. 

“Hey, kitten,” Kuroo rumbled, his black wings gliding slightly downwards. “We’re dating… right?” 

“Of course we are.” Kenma mumbled, and the dragon’s scales heated up as they continued on. 

“Okay. Okay, um. Yeah. Good,” Kuroo coughed, clearly embarrassed, and the bottle blond chuckled. “Hey, you did reach out to Oikawa and tell him you’re okay, right?” 

Silence. 

“Fuck.” Kenma’s tiny voice whispered just as they landed back at the cave, only to see two familiar figures waiting for them. One of them was clearly a wind nymph - Oikawa, and he looked pissed beyond belief, but along with him was a person Kuroo almost didn’t recognize, seeing as they had only talked using certain enchanted tools. 

“Yaku.” Kenma breathed, quickly sliding off the black dragon and running to greet his friend. The caramel-haired boy had tear tracks running down his face - he had been crying, and as soon as he spotted the person coming towards him, he broke out into a dead sprint, his expression fierce. Kuroo couldn’t tell if it was relief or if he was absolutely livid. The two finally met in the middle, Yaku letting out fresh waves of tears. 

“You asshole, just hanging up on me a-and giving me radio silence for days, and Oikawa couldn’t trace you until yesterday when he felt you leaving some sanctuary he couldn’t travel to, and I thought you died, you stupid dickhead.” Yaku rambled, but his grip on Kenma was tight as the prince let out a clear, happy laugh. 

“Sorry I worried you both.” Kenma murmured, a smile playing on his lips even as Oikawa yanked him out of Yaku’s arms and into his own. 

“You just snuffed yourself out and I didn’t know what happened! Iwa-chan and I looked high and low until I faintly felt you somewhere in the North. Why did you have to go to Karasuno? It’s a Dragon Haven, outsiders aren’t allowed in without-” Oikawa glared daggers at Kuroo. “-special permission.” Kuroo reared back, flames snorting out of his nose. 

“He was dying, I needed Suga to heal him.” Kuroo protested, and Oikawa huffed. 

“Mr. Refreshing,” Oikawa looked over Kenma, giving a begrudging nod of approval. “Tell him I said thank you, ‘kay?” 

“What happened?” Yaku asked feverishly, once again grabbing Kenma’s attention as he was finally put down. 

“Prince Daishou wounded Kuroo while he was protecting me-” Yaku made a face of disgust when he heard Daishou’s name; they both greatly disliked the man even before this had happened. “-I sent him away with a warning, and I healed Kuroo using almost all of my magic.” Kenma finished, making the summary as short as possible. 

“Kuroo Tetsurou, change into your human form and get over here. Now.” Yaku said slowly, menacingly, as he turned to face the enormous black beast. With a curt nod, Kuroo obliged, joining them as he reverted into his human form. 

“Now, now, Mori, I already grilled him.” Oikawa sang, but he was grinning cattily. 

“It’s fine.” Kuroo shook his head, and with a final worried glance from Kenma, he faced Yaku. The shorter man craned his neck to make eye contact, only making him angrier, and without further ado, he jabbed Kuroo in the stomach, who yelped in pain.

“I know he can look after himself just fine, but if you ever hurt Kenma, you’ll be dead.” Yaku said coldly, but his eyes flickered with fire. 

“Noted.” Kuroo wheezed, and Kenma gave Yaku a withering look. 

“Come on, I needed to do it once!” Yaku defended, but Kenma huffed in exasperation. 

“Apologize,” Kenma said, and Yaku grumbled out a ‘sorry’. “How did you manage to get off of castle grounds, anyways?” 

“... Your parents thought for sure that Daishou was going to rescue you, so since their lineage was finally all accounted for, they crowned Itsuru yesterday,” Yaku replied quietly. “When he finally learned of where they sent you, he stormed off to me and asked if I knew about this - your parents told him that you had ran away - so I told him everything. He told me to find you.” Kenma smiled softly, recalling his older brother. 

They didn’t interact much, but their relationship was one that was akin to mutual comfort in silence. One where you could be reading in the same room as the person, perfectly content with doing whatever it was separate from the other, but still feeling together. 

Kuroo suddenly took hold of Kenma’s hand, a grim expression on his face. “Will he try to bring him back?” The Prince suddenly paled, the thought not having crossed his mind, but thankfully Yaku shook his head. 

“I told him that you’re no threat to Kenma or the Nekoma Kingdom. He said that as long as Kenma was happy and that you both came to visit, he could stay.” Yaku reassured, and Kuroo looked like he was ready to die, what with all of the threats he was getting from Kenma’s friends, and now, family. 

Kenma’s family. 

“I think I need to sit down.” Kuroo muttered, plopping down on the ground. 

“Itsuru will like you just fine, and I don’t care about my parent’s opinions.” Kenma reassured him with an eyeroll. 

“You have, like, a small Protect-Kenma army.” Kuroo muttered faintly, head resting in his hands as Oikawa was trying and failing miserably to hold back his laughter and Yaku was looking on in amusement. 

“You have a Bokuto.” Kenma fired back. 

“Well yeah, but Bokuto isn’t intimidating, he’s a man-child.” Kuroo protested. 

“You have an Akaashi, too.” Kenma added. 

“... Fair.” Kuroo grumbled. “So, time to visit the in-laws, I suppose?”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Kozume Itsuru was very pleased with himself, as he was sitting down to dinner outdoors with his parents, wife, and children. His rule so far was peaceful, though it had been less than a week. 

His grin grew exponentially when he saw the head guard burst in and say that terrible creatures had come knocking on the palace door - and they had Prince Kenma with them. His parents had gasped in horror, sharing terrified glances, but Itsuru and his wife gave each other knowing looks. 

“Well, don’t just stand there, invite them in! We have much to discuss.” Itsuru ordered, and with a pale face, the guard nodded. 

“Itsuru, dear, are you out of your mind?” The former King Kozume bellowed as his mother cowered. 

“I am perfectly well, father, thank you for asking.” Itsuru droned, his tone clipped. Then, the door opened to reveal six men. Itsuru recognized Yaku, but the one who brought a small smile to his face was- 

“Kenma.” Itsuru greeted, rising from his spot. 

“Itsuru. It has been too long.” Kenma said formally. 

“Uncle Ken!” Mei, Itsuru’s five year old daughter, came barreling towards her uncle and hugged him. A small smile grew on Kenma’s face as he embraced her. 

“Mei, get away from him!” The Prince’s mother screeched, and Mei looked at her in confusion. 

“But Grandmother-” She started, but Kenma cut her off. 

“It’s time for some adults to talk, Mei. We can play later, okay?” Kenma said softly, and with a reluctant look, she nodded and walked back to her mother, who smiled reassuringly at him. 

“Though it’s nice to see Yaku again, introduce us to the newcomers, won’t you?” Itsuru prompted, a smirk arising on his face, and his brother was all too happy to oblige. 

“Oikawa Tooru, Wind Nymph and representative of the Hidden Grotto, Aoba Jousai.” A handsome man with chocolate eyes and brown locks gave the former King and Queen a cold smile as an invisible wind whipped around him.

“Bokuto Koutarou, King of the Griffins and representative of the Cliffs of Fukurodani.” A man with badly-dyed hair and a hawk-like gaze gave them a bright wave. Wings sprouted from his back in the same colors as his hair.

“Akaashi Keiji, Dragon of Mirrors and representative of the Dragon Haven Karasuno in place of Sugawara Koushi.” A shorter man with slate, lidded eyes looked at them with a calculating stare and nodded in acknowledgement. 

“Kuroo Tetsurou, Dragon of Sciences, and the one who you all dropped me at the mercy of.” Kenma finished, looking pointedly at his parents. The final man was the largest and the most terrifying, with inky black hair and golden eyes pinning down the former rulers with what could only be described as pure malice. 

“You forgot to add ‘your boyfriend’ to the list of attributes, Kenma.” Kuroo said with a catty grin, his golden eyes locked onto the morphing looks of horror on the parent’s faces. Itsuru raised an eyebrow at Kenma, who simply shrugged. 

“Is this true, Kenma?” His mother whispered faintly, her eyes locked upon Kuroo. 

“Yes.” Kenma stated bluntly, and the room was silent for a moment. 

“Why have you come?” Itsuru asked lightly, but his voice dripped with a certain foreknowledge and smugness that ran in the family. 

“We have come to make peace treaties with your Kingdom. Far too many Knights and magical beings have lost their lives to each other.” Akaashi said as he stepped forward. 

“Blasphemy! It has been as such for eternities! They are monsters, Itsuru!” Kenma’s father roared, but the elder son’s face remained blank. Bokuto’s feathers ruffled and Akaashi sucked in a deep breath, eyes momentarily becoming reflective - the former King could see his own fear-ridden expression in them. Kuroo’s grip on Kenma’s hand tightened. The air whipped furiously around the man and his wife as Oikawa’s eyes flashed dangerously. 

“The ‘monsters’ are in this room, Mr. Kozume. I think you should choose your next words carefully.” Oikawa crooned, voice oozing with malice as he smirked. 

“Oikawa.” Kenma addressed pointedly, and with a pout, the nymph wave the gale away. 

“No fun.” Oikawa huffed, but he was pleased with himself. 

“Father,” Itsuru addressed coldly, without looking at the withering man. “I don’t believe it is your Kingdom anymore, and therefore it is not your place to insult such guests. You and mother are excused from dinner.” His father recoiled, as if we was slapped, but palace guards quickly surrounded them before he could make any remark. With silence as their last remaining dignity, the couple walked out of the room. When the door closed with finality, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Well, now that that’s over with, shall we get down to business?” Itsuru asked the group, who all nodded and sat down, filling the empty spots at the table. “I must apologize for my father’s behavior.” 

“We’ve all heard worse, King Kozume.” Akaashi reassured, and the two, along with Kuroo and Oikawa, began to discuss new peace laws and conditions, off-limits places and other rules. Kenma was engaged as well, but a tiny voice distracted him. 

“Your wings are so pretty.” Mei gasped reverently to Bokuto, who lit up and beamed. 

“They’re the best, right? You can touch them, if you want.” Bokuto grinned, and after getting a smile of allowance from her mother, Mei gently stroked the griffin’s wings. Kenma smiled. If this was any indication of the future relations between the Nekoma Kingdom and mystical beings, this would all turn out just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Politics and Families and Futures, oh my!  
> Epilogue is next, ladies and gentlemen! <3


	5. Flying Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Often times, fairytales or fables get passed down from generation to generation, of magical creatures roaming the world and weaving tales of adventure. One of the most popular is of a human who fell in love with a dragon, and found a way to be together despite the odds stacked against them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER THIS IS SO WEIRD IT'S OVER WHA T   
> (I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY THIS FLUFF <3)

“I think that this meeting went rather well.” Kuroo hummed a few months later. It had been two years since Kenma had first met Kuroo, and everything finally seemed to be running smoothly. After the representatives for magical creatures all parted ways and made their way back to their respective homes, they began to meet bimonthly to check up on how the new laws were being abided by, if anything needed to be changed or fixed, etcetera. So far, everyone was integrating rather smoothly. The Nekoma kingdom welcomed all creatures with open arms, and the magical species responded in kind.

“Yeah.” Kenma murmured, smiling blissfully as they sat around a fire. Kuroo was holding him close in his human form, his chin resting on the bottle blond’s head and said blond’s back against Kuroo’s chest. In their free days, the couple simply spent their free time in their cave or visiting friends, cherishing the freedom that they hadn’t had the luxury of before. 

“Remember when I just woke up after you brought me to Suga?” Kenma asked, voice soft but clearly awake. 

“Yes, why?” Kuroo replied, his brows furrowing. 

“I heard him say you could save me, but you didn’t because it wasn’t a guaranteed way, and because you wanted my permission? What was that?” Kenma asked, his golden eyes shimmering with some unreadable emotion. Kuroo flinched and buried his head in Kenma’s shoulder. 

“I didn’t want to tell you this until much later.” Kuroo admitted. 

“Is everything okay?” Kenma asked softly, caressing the man’s cheek, who chuckled weakly. 

“It’s fine, just a little… embarrassing?” Kuroo muttered, and the smaller could feel the heat radiating off of him. 

“Everything is embarrassing if you do it, Kuro. Now tell me.” Kenma said dryly, and the black-haired man huffed. 

“So, uh… If I performed a certain… ritual? You would have lived as long as I did, but at the time, I didn’t know if I was healed, and mostly, if you didn’t want to live as long as me, that would have been awful. I would have rather gotten your consent, which wasn’t really an option at the time, or go to Suga.” Kuroo explained, but Kenma’s eyes narrowed. 

“What’s the ritual, Kuroo?” Kenma asked, his hands running up through Kuroo’s hair. 

“A…. mating… ritual. Like, dragon marriage, kind of?” Kuroo clarified shyly, and he felt the human freeze. The taller exhaled shakily onto his boyfriend’s neck, wanting nothing more than to hold him close, but he wanted to allow him to leave, if that was what he really wanted. He refused to let this become a prison, another cage for Kenma. 

“Kuro,” Kenma started, his voice shaky as he repositioned himself in Kuroo’s lap so that he was facing his boyfriend. “I don’t think that’s the right way to ask. Try again.”

Kuroo’s eyes widened, and his hands gently fell onto Kenma’s waist. 

“Will you be my mate?” Kuroo asked, his thick voice with tentative hope and disbelief. 

Kenma, not trusting his voice, nodded, a euphoric smile on his face as he pulled Kuroo into a soft, sweet kiss. In a state of shock, Kuroo pulled his new mate close, loving and extremely gentle as he brushed Kenma’s hair to the side. Their foreheads touched.

“Kuro?” He mumbled happily. 

“Yeah?” Kuroo replied.

“Does this mean I’ll be a dragon?” Kenma asked, his eyes shining with interest, and Kuroo laughed. 

“Not fully one, more artificially so. Some mates get dragon forms, some don’t. You might.” 

Kenma’s eyes widened and grew sparkly as he tugged furiously on Kuroo’s sleeve. 

“What, that’s it? Right now? You don’t want to know how long it’ll take, or if it hurts, or if you’ll be a danger to others? Remember, I’m a terrifying dragon that could eat you in one bite.” Kuroo chuckled, raising an eyebrow as he grinned, but Kenma gave him a long, deadpan look. 

“I trust you.” Kenma stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and that hit Kuroo. Hard. This tiny human who had just waltzed into his cave had wormed his way into his heart, saved his life, and had made magic-human bonds stronger than ever. Kenma, this amazing Prince who could have anyone he wanted because of his heroism, chose to live with him, a dark dragon. Kenma saying that he trusts someone is basically saying he loves them, and it made Kuroo want to cry. 

“Don’t be a sap,” Kenma warned, but he was smiling softly as he pecked his dragon on the forehead. “Now, let’s be together forever.” 

“Yeah,” Kuroo muttered softly, leaning into his touch before getting up and heading into his lab-room in the cave, Kenma shadowing him. With a huge smile on his face that he couldn’t get rid of, Kuroo grabbed a few items - white chalk, two small nuggets of unrefined gold. Without hesitation, he opened up a drawer full of precious stones and chose a small ruby. “Choose whichever one you’re drawn to.” Kuroo said, gesturing to the drawer. 

For a moment, Kenma looked at the selection. There were so many jewels - emeralds and pearls and sapphires galore - but they didn’t call to him. Then, a small stone caught his eye. It wasn’t big, maybe around the width of a pencil eraser, but it was a clear yellow that reminded Kenma of Kuroo’s eyes. He picked it up. 

When the human turned around, Kuroo had just finished drawing an elaborate magic circle, filled with symmetrical lines and swirls all leading elegantly into two smaller circles inside the large one. They faced opposite each other, no more than a foot apart, but the design was intricate. 

“Okay, um, full disclosure,” Kuroo started, getting into one of the circles. “You get into the circle and I’m going to start chanting what will sound like gibberish to you, but it’s actually dragon language. I’ll walk you through it.” He paused for a second, biting his lip. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“I’m sure.” Kenma replied, smiling fondly as he stepped into the circle. He felt a warm current fill the room - not his doing. It had started. True to his words, Kuroo began to speak in a language that Kenma was unfamiliar with, but it sounded old and powerful. The chalk circle began to glow faintly, and the human could smell petrichor, honeysuckle, warm stew, and apple pie. 

“Place your stone and gold in the circle.” Kuroo’s voice echoed, and they both did so. The gold began to melt down, flexing and melding into two braided rings. The yellow stone melded into one ring, which flew onto Kuroo’s hand, and the other garnet was welded onto the ring that was slipped onto Kenma’s hand. 

“These rings symbolize your entwined lives and your bond with each other. Now, you may saw a few words to your significant other before giving consent to mating.” Kuroo intoned, and gave the human an encouraging smile. It was mildly horrifying to be put on the spot, but Kenma shook it off and tried his best. 

“I met you at a time when I thought you would eat me, or be my villainous captor for who knows how long. However, I grew to cherish my time with you highly, and I sacrificed my life willingly so that you might have survived. You did, and for that, I am infinitely grateful. I love you with all of my heart, and I, Kozume Kenma, consent to being mates with Kuroo Tetsurou.” Kenma spoke, a large smile on his face that almost made Kuroo cry. 

“I thought that you would be good companionship, at first, because I didn’t just want to send you out into the wilderness, and eating you was out of the question. For a while, that’s all you were - a companion - but that quickly expanded into so much more. You became everything to me, and I know you always will be my home. I, Kuroo Tetsurou, consent to being mates with Kozume Kenma.” Kuroo said, focused completely on Kenma. 

With that, the glow from the magic circle transferred onto the two lovers, shining brightly as the two were engulfed. Familiar black swirls surrounded Kuroo, transforming him into his dragon form. Golden, slitted eyes focused in on the white swirls encasing his mate as he waited in suspense as the magic blew away into nothing, leaving a small dragon in its wake. 

The new dragon’s scales were shiny and rounded, and were a lovely cream color. He had small brown horns tipped with a light yellow, and his claws were a sharp chocolate color. His wings were small, but with his body type, they were clearly aerodynamic. He opened his eyes - they were a startling gold. Kuroo laughed as the dragon took a tentative few steps, flexing his wings before focusing on Kuroo. 

“Fancy meeting you here, kitten.” Kuroo rumbled happily, his voice deeper.

“Kuroo?” Kenma tested out his voice - it was more melodic, tantalizing and beautiful, like him. “Did… Did it work? Are we mates now?” He sounded unsure, and it broke Kuroo’s heart a little bit - he would blow those worries away. 

“Kenma Kozume, Dragon of Winds, Ambassador of the Nekoma Kingdom and mate of Kuroo Tetsurou,” Kuroo hummed, wearing a toothy grin. “That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” 

“Mates,” Kenma breathed, letting out a laugh like wind chimes as he nuzzled their noses together affectionately. “My mate.” 

“Does my mate want to try out their new wings?” Kuroo asked coyly, flexing his own black ones teasingly, and Kenma let out a small smile. 

“Let’s go.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Often times, fairytales or fables get passed down from generation to generation, of magical creatures roaming the world and weaving tales of adventure. One of the most popular is of a human who fell in love with a dragon, and found a way to be together despite the odds stacked against them. They say that one was white and one was black, and the story goes that if a couple’s love is true, that on the night of their wedding, the moon will momentarily be covered by the two lovers. In forming yin and yang when they shadow the moon, they show the representation of true love and give their blessing before flying off into their own happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANOTHER THANKS TO MY BEAUTIFUL BETA, WHO I WROTE THIS STORY FOR. GOD BLESS.   
> BUT ANYWAYS, I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED, HAVE AN AMAZING DAY!!!!!!! <3   
> I'm @decadentcandyeagle on tumblr hmu if you wanna chat or be my friend :)   
> Comments and Kudos are much appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the cave of Kuroo Tetsurou, dragon extraordinaire!!!!!! ;))))))))


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